It has been observed that organic compounds in the air can have a deleterious effect on electronic components. For example, even in a clean room that is substantially free of particulate matter, a semiconductor chip can be adversely affected by organic compounds in the air that settle thereon. Furthermore, it has been observed that precision mechanisms such as hard disk drives used in computers are adversely affected by organic compounds that are out-gassed from materials used in the construction thereof. A specific example is silicone or any siloxane product. It has been found that siloxanes occur in many products. For example, some adhesives, paints, and mold release compounds outgas siloxanes when heated. It has been found that siloxanes can cause a disk drive to crash.
Thus, it has become important for the manufacturers of disk drives, and their suppliers, to carefully inspect motors, pressure sensitive adhesives, labels and other components for the presence of outgassed organic compounds. Initially, these inspections were made individually on a small scale and on a static basis using whatever laboratory equipment was available that would serve the purpose. Then, disposable jars with plastic caps were used to collect static headspace samples. However, it was found that the plastic caps were unsatisfactory. Accordingly, special aluminum caps were custom made to replace the plastic caps. It was then decided that what was needed was a multisample dynamic headspace sampler.
The term "headspace" means the space in the jar or bottle above the sample or part under test and below the cap or lid. For example, if a motor is being tested, the headspace is the space in the jar all around the motor below the cap and its seal. A static headspace sampler collects a sample of the gas in the headspace without involving a gas flow. A dynamic headspace sampler collects a sample of the gas in the headspace by using a flow of gas in the headspace.
The closest known previously existing device is a multisample purge and trap unit used in the environmental chemistry industry for monitoring volatile hydrocarbons in soils. This previously existing device is not very versatile, and almost always is connected in-line to a gas chromatograph.